Hyderabad: Turncoat MLA Danam Nagender sparks controversy with abusive language in Assembly

With the entire opposition raising strong objections to his “unwarranted” and “offensive” remarks in the House, Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar intervened and the MLA was forced to apologise by withdrawing his remarks

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Legislative Assembly witnessed heated drama on Friday as Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender used abusive language against BRS MLAs, causing an uproar.

With the entire opposition raising strong objections to his “unwarranted” and “offensive” remarks in the House, Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar intervened and the MLA was forced to apologise by withdrawing his remarks.

During a short discussion on “Activities for Sustainable Urban Development in Hyderabad Metro City” in the Assembly, Nagender who defected from the BRS to the ruling Congress, was allowed to speak. The BRS legislators, led by party working president KT Rama Rao, demanded to know which party Nagender was representing. Though the Speaker said every member has the right to speak, he did not clarify Nagender’s party affiliation, leading to further objections from BRS MLAs.

With the BRS members not yielding, Nagender responded with “abusive” language especially targeting Padi Kaushik Reddy and others, challenging them to come out. He warned to “peel off their skin” and “not let them walk on the streets”. The situation escalated quickly as BRS MLAs expressed their indignation over Nagender’s comments.

AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi also objected to the “very unparliamentary” language used by Nagender abusing “mothers” and stated that as a senior legislator, the latter could not be allowed to speak such language. He requested that the Speaker should make him tender an unconditional apology failing which it would set a wrong precedence.

The Speaker intervened to restore order in the Assembly and stated that the abusive remarks would be expunged from the records. Complying with the Speaker’s instructions, Nagender announced the withdrawal of his comments and expressed regret.

He claimed that his remarks were not intentional and emphasised his seniority and well-known reputation in an attempt to mitigate the backlash. “I did not mean to offend anyone, but it is part of Hyderabadi slang,” he defended himself, before moving forward with his speech.

However, the BRS members stated that such behaviour was unacceptable, especially from senior members of the Assembly. They said it set a poor example eroding the integrity of the legislative process.